Townes Van Zandt reflections on a songwriter

People posting quite a few affection things about one of Americanas tragic best

March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997

 «Once I said that Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world – and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee-table in my cowboy boots and say that. It was for the sticker of a Townes record, I believe At My Window. Did I believe Townes was a better songwriter than Bob? No. Townes said to me, "That was really nice. But I've met Dylan's bodyguards and I don't think that's a good idea". A few years later I toured with Bob and found out he only had one bodyguard and he wasn't that scary. Bob invented this job and he's never had any trouble making people understand how good he is. Townes, on the other hand, shot himself in the foot every chance he got, so he needed the help. Trust me, Bob knew who Townes was. I toured with Bob in 1988, he played Pancho And Lefty one night, just to let me know he'd heard what I said about his coffee-table» – Steve Earle, 2017

«One way to measure a songwriter is to look at the singers who sing their songs. Townes Van Zandt has had some of the best – Neil Young, John Prine, Norah Jones, Gillian Welch, Robert Plant, Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris and hundred of others. Another way to measure a songwriter is – are their songs still being sung? Townes's are. Every night – in small clubs, in lonely bedrooms and wherever the brokenhearted watch the shadows grown long» – Bob Dylan, 2022

The Bob Dylan Fan Club